Pictures and Preconceptions
by Macceh
Summary: Sometimes you aren't quite who you think you are, sometimes other people aren't quite who you think they are and sometimes you should just concentrate on catching an escaped mass murderer. Kingsley Shacklebot tries to track down Sirius Black during PoA.
1. Pictures and Preconceptions

This started off as a response to the 'Taboo Challenge', where the challenge was to write about a character or characters while avoiding the use of certain taboo phrases, characters, situations, etc. I choose Kingsley Shacklebolt, whose taboos were: Arthur Weasley, Ministry of Magic, the Order, "brave".

However, what was supposed to have been a one-shot has since grown into a multi-chapter fic and doesn't completely follow the rules of the challenge in the later chapters.

Please, review and tell me what you think: good? Bad? In character? Poorly worded? Your comments are very much appreciated!

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Kingsley Shacklebot stared at the photographs and files that covered his kitchen table. Faces stared back at him, faces from his time at Hogwarts but greyer and older than he remembered. Well, two of them were; older and more worn than their years. The others, well the other three faces were a little older than he remembered but not by much and none of those three would get any older; James Potter, Lily Evans and Peter Pettigrew. He remembered them all from Hogwarts, two years older than himself but in the same house. Just two years older and all three were dead, had been dead for twelve years and all because of that other face on his table.

Sirius Black.

Kingsley remembered him as well. He shook his head sadly and tried to rub the tiredness from his eyes. He just couldn't seem to resolve the laughing boy with a quick arrogant smile and confident swagger with the drawn, gaunt face in front of him. He couldn't resolve that boy with a man who had betrayed his closest friend to Voldemort, with a man who had escaped from Azkaban and now appeared to be trying to kill his godson.

He rubbed his eyes again. It didn't help. He was exhausted but couldn't seem to get to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the faces that littered the table in front of him. Those faces, and another, a younger one that looked like James when he was thirteen but with Lily's stunning green eyes and a lightening shaped scar.

Harry James Potter.

He hadn't seen the boy. He never been particularly close to the Potters', had never had a chance to see their pride and joy before they went into hiding and after… well, after _that_ night nobody had seen him until he'd started Hogwarts. No, he hadn't seen him but Harry had been described to him and Kingsley could see him in his mind's eye. Could quite clearly see the boy he had to try and protect from a mad man.

Black seemed to have disappeared into thin air. They had found no trace of him yet and apart from that heart-stopping moment three days ago when Harry had disappeared from his Aunt and Uncle's; when they'd been so afraid that Black had already succeeded, they had no idea where to even start looking. Well, that wasn't quite true…

Kingsley picked up the fifth picture and stared at it, then put it down and picked up the folder next to it. He flicked through the folder, not really paying attention as he'd read it all before, several times.

Remus Lupin.

Remus had been good friends with James and Sirius at Hogwarts. He didn't need a file to tell him that. He had needed the file to tell him that Remus was a werewolf. That Remus had been bitten when he was a child. That Kingsley had slept in the same tower as a werewolf for five years. That Dumbledore had been mad enough to let a werewolf stay in the same castle as hundreds of other children… but… nothing had happened. Nobody had been bitten, nobody had been as much as scratched, well at least as far as the records were concerned, and if anything _had_ happened it would have been all over the school.

He picked up the picture again and stared at it. Remus Lupin. Kingsley could still see the boy he'd known at Hogwarts, hidden behind too many grey hairs and eyes that had seen too much loss and pain and death. Remus looked far older than his years, but then that Halloween twelve years ago must have hit him hard and life could hardly be easy for a werewolf trying to make ends meet in the wizarding world, not with all that prejudice floating around.

Prejudice.

Kingsley frowned. He liked to think of himself as an open minded man, one not prone to making judgments too quickly, not prone to assuming someone was guilty just because they had the wrong parents, or had been in Slytherin, or looked dodgy or… grew fur once a month. He had thought himself fair minded, and yet… and yet… he hadn't been able to suppress a shiver of horror that he had been so close to a werewolf for five years and never realised it. He felt guilty about it now, looking at the photo of tired, quiet, bookish Remus. Remus who had helped cheer the first years up when they were feeling homesick, who had laughed and played pranks with his friends, who had made sure everyone got enough sleep during exams, who had looked like he wouldn't hurt a fly. Remus had been a werewolf at school and had never harmed anyone, he had been a boy like any other and Kingsley hated himself a little for that slither of prejudice he hadn't know he had in him.

He made another futile attempt to push the sleep from his eyes. He knew Remus was the best place to start, he'd known Sirius well, might be able to help them work out what the Azkaban escapee would do, where he might go. Oh, they had aurors watching Remus' cottage in case Black showed up there and somebody had been to ask the man a few questions but Kingsley knew he needed to conduct a proper interview with him.

Kingsley hated to admit it but he was a little apprehensive about this interview and he wasn't quite sure why; it wasn't so much the fact that Remus was a werewolf he was worried about but more that Remus might be able to spot that little slither of involuntary prejudice that Kingsley had only recently found and was still trying to exorcise. Nobody likes the thought that somebody else might be able to see the deep dark parts of their soul, the parts that have often been unsuccessfully wished away. It was a perfectly normal fear and in all honesty Kingsley suspected he would be meeting Remus with an unfair advantage in that respect; already knowing about his secret, monthly monster.

He stood up resolutely and began putting away the files and photographs. Contemplation alone and at this time of night could only lead to maudlin thoughts which were hardly constructive. No, he'd get try to get some sleep and then talk to Remus in the morning.

After everything was put away, he headed upstairs to bed. He caught a glimpse of the shining, full moon out of the bedroom window and sighed; maybe tomorrow wasn't the best day to visit Remus.


	2. Conversation

The wind whipped around the tiny cottage in the middle of nowhere and tugged at the robes of the tall, black, auror striding up the path towards it. He paused at the door and then knocked loudly on the ancient wood. It was a long moment before the door was answered by a sandy-haired man who looked like he hadn't slept in a week.

The auror spoke first. "Remus Lupin." It wasn't a question and Remus simply acknowledged the name with a small nod. Neither man said anything for a moment as Remus studied the auror with tired eyes, trying to recollect a name to go with the face.

"Kingsley Shacklebot?" He said eventually. "Two years below me, James once water bombed you and ended up on the wrong end of a nasty stinging hex."

The auror smiled slightly and inclined his head in acknowledgment. Remus waved him into the house.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" He asked closing the door and leading Kingsley into the kitchen where he all but collapsed into a chair.

"I think you can guess."

"Sirius." Remus sighed. "He hasn't come visiting, at least as far as I know."

"Do you think he will?"

Remus shook his head. "I doubt it. He knows he's more likely to receive curses from me than help."

"Who else would he go to for help?"

Remus shrugged. "Most of his school friends are dead," He said bitterly, "and most of his living relatives are still in Azkaban. Well apart from his cousin Andromeda but its highly unlikely he'll go to her; she has the Black temper and will certainly curse first and ask questions later where Sirius is concerned."

"And you?"

Remus gave the auror a long, dark, look. "The same." He replied firmly.

Kingsley regarded him for a long moment and then nodded. "We'd appreciate your help in finding him. You knew him better than anyone."

"Anyone still alive anyway." Remus replied bitterly, rubbing his tired eyes. "Or at least I thought I did." He tried to stifle a yawn and failed.

"Rough night?" Kingsley asked neutrally.

Remus looked up quickly and met the other man's calm, steady, gaze. "You could say that…" He replied carefully.

They regarded each other again for a long moment, Remus warily and Kingsley with his usual unshakeable calm.

"When were you bitten?" The auror asked eventually, his tone professional and in Remus' experience surprisingly lacking in prejudice. Remus sighed, of course the man had read up on him before this visit and of course his lycanthropy had come up, it had been foolish to think otherwise.

"I was four." He replied shortly.

That didn't get any reaction, which surprised Remus somewhat; people were normally shocked by how young he had been when he was bitten. But then again, if the auror had read up on him then chances were he already knew. "You were at Hogwarts…" Kingsley left the sentence hanging, inviting the werewolf to explain.

"I left the grounds every full moon and transformed in a safe place." He explained wearily.

"You hid it well." Kingsley's voice was still neutral.

"I didn't have much choice, did I?"Remus all but snapped. He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes again. "I'm sorry," He said more calmly. "The morning after the full moon is not the best time to be talking to me."

"I understand."

Remus frowned at that and looked up at the man standing on the other side of the kitchen table, really looked at him. He was calm and composed and didn't seem the slightest bit concerned by the fact he was just feet away from a tired and tetchy werewolf. Remus couldn't remember much about Kingsley from Hogwarts, couldn't really separate his face from the crowd of Gryffindor faces. There were no details he could remember (save that which he'd greeted the auror with) to make Kingsley stand out in his memory. Then again his mind was always rather fuzzy after the full moon; Remus knew he might well be able to remember more when his head was working properly again. He shrugged off the nagging annoyance of a flagging memory for the moment; Kingsley was here on auror business, not to reminisce about Hogwarts.

"Why are you here?" Remus asked wearily after several moments of silence.

"Sirius Black…" Kingsley began but stopped as Remus waved his hand dismissively.

"Why are you here, the morning after the full moon asking me questions I've been asked before? The aurors tailing me can tell you that I've had no more contact with Sirius since I was asked about him three days ago. So, why are you here?" The werewolf clarified his voice testy with tiredness.

Kingsley smiled slightly; even exhausted as he must be from last nights exertions the man could think clearly enough to pick up on that little inconsistency. "I need to conduct a more complete interview, including the events surrounding the Potters' deaths."

Remus grimaced. "And you had to pick today?" He asked sourly.

Kingsley shrugged slightly. "Tired people who aren't thinking straight tend to let more of the truth slip."

Remus smiled mirthlessly at that and indicated for Kingsley to take the other chair and begin his interview.

Kingsley took it, glad that that practical bit of auror advice hid the tiny guilty truth that part of the reason for choosing this morning was to confront and exorcise his little prejudice. He was even gladder that the exorcism seemed to be working.


	3. Letter

It was about an hour into the interview when the owl arrived. It was a large, glossy, tawny owl and the letter it carried was of thick, heavy, parchment.

Equally curious, the two men put aside their conversation while Remus read the letter. There was a long pause after Remus finished the letter, Kingsley didn't say anything; the man was clearly thinking hard, which probably wasn't easy. He had noticed that at times during their conversation Remus hadhad trouble focusing on what was being said and the auror suspected it was an after effect of a full moon and too little sleep since.

Eventually Remus spoke. "Is Harry in danger from Sirius?" The werewolf watched the auror intently as he asked the question.

"We think so." Kingsley replied carefully. "The guards at Azkaban say he was muttering in his sleep before he escaped, "He's at Hogwarts" he kept saying."

Remus paled slightly at that news and stared off in to the distance for a moment, thinking hard once more. When the man spoke again it wasn't quite what Kingsley had been expecting. "Dumbledore wants me to teach at Hogwarts: Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Kingsley nodded slowly, digesting this under the werewolves piercing gaze. "You would be able to help keep Harry safe." He said neutrally.

"And the rest of the children?" Remus asked, his stare losing none of its intensity.

"You managed well enough last time." Kingsley replied with the smallest of smiles, sure in his own mind that Albus Dumbledore would not offer a teaching post to a werewolf without adequate precautions being taken.

Remus nodded, more to himself than to the auror. "And Severus Snape has agreed to make the Wolfsbane potion for me."

Kingsley watched the man in front of him agonise over this decision. He knew what choice he would make but then he wasn't Remus Lupin and hadn't had to face the consequences of being a werewolf for a lifetime.

"What's stopping you taking it?" Kingsley asked after the moment of agonised silence stretched on too long.

Remus raised an eyebrow and gave a small sardonic laugh. "I'm far too dangerous to be around so many children and I shouldn't put Harry in danger like that."

Kingsley smiled slightly, feeling the last slithers of his prejudice towards this man evaporate. "He'd be far safer with you there to protect him against Black." He said quietly. "Unless of course you're in league with him…" The look of sheer fury on the Remus' face at that insinuation was enough to dismiss the theory completely from the auror's mind.

"I would never…" The werewolf began, his voice laden with anger.

Kingsley interrupted him before he could get any further. "I know." He said simply. "Now." He added and Remus' flare of temper disappeared as he realised the auror had just been testing him, making sure that Harry was in no danger from him.

"You think I should accept the position?" Remus asked cautiously after he'd calmed.

Kingsley shrugged. "It's your decision."

"But if the parents found out…"

"Is that a risk you're willing to take to potentially save Harry's life?" The look on Remus' face was answer enough for Kingsley to know that he was looking at Hogwarts' newest Professor.

XXXXX

When Kingsley left an hour or so later, after finishing the interview, he felt calmer than he had before. With his own personal demons lain to rest and the knowledge that there would be somebody close to Harry who knew how Black would think and thus could protect him better, made Kingsley feel more confident that they would be able to recapture the criminal without loss of life.

Not that it would be easy. Merlin, no! The first person ever to escape from Azkaban, Voldemort's right hand by many accounts and a man who had ruthlessly betrayed his closest friends and his godson, No, it wouldn't be easy but it should be possible, had to be possible, to find Sirius Black before he hurt anyone else.


	4. Halloween

It was about three in the afternoon when there was a knock on Kingsley's door. He looked up from his paperwork and frowned; his social life had been pretty poor since the start of the whole Black debacle and he really wasn't expecting anyone to come calling.

He was only slightly surprised to find Sandra at the door. He'd meet the bubbly brunette about a month ago and they were in some, very loose, sense of the word 'seeing' each other. They'd fallen into bed together a couple of times and had dinner together a couple more times. It was nice and easy, she seemed content not to complicate things too much, a nice contrast to the Black case which seemed to be anything but easy. It was a nice contrast for her as well, after suddenly finding herself the sole guardian of a seven year old, second cousin, whom she barely knew.

"I have a Chloe free afternoon" She announced grinning.

"Ah." Kingsley nodded in understanding; that certainly explained the witch's presence on his doorstep. "Where is she?"

"Round at a friend's house, they're having a sleepover for Halloween, so I have a Chloe free evening as well." She added, with another, slightly different grin.

Kingsley smiled at her enthusiasm for his company and waved her into the house and then into the kitchen. She frowned when she saw the mass of papers on the kitchen table.

"It's a Saturday and it's Halloween, you really shouldn't be working, you know!" She scolded lightly.

"I'll stop working when Black is back safe in Azkaban."

"You really think Black will try something tonight?" She asked expecting a negative, but in all honesty it _was_ something he was worried about.

"It would be a nice anniversary for him." He replied darkly.

"He's been on the run for months chances are he doesn't know what the date is."

"Yes, but there's a chance he does."

Sandra sighed and then smiled slightly. "You work too hard."

"I know."

She smiled again. "You're going to take today off though: I insist!"

Kingsley smiled back. "I suppose one day won't hurt."

XXXXX

It was dark outside and very cold when the frantic message woke Kingsley. There was some grumbling (not all from him) as he rolled out of the warm bed and dressed quickly.

"What's going on?" Sandra asked sleepily from beneath the thick covers.

"Black broke into Hogwarts." The auror replied shortly, grabbing his cloak.

Sandra nodded grimly. "Good luck!"

He gave her an apologetic glance and was half out the bedroom door when he heard her add. "I'll keep the bed warm!" He smiled slightly to himself at that thought, until he reached the front door when he turned his mind to the task at hand and disapparated.

XXXXX

It was organised chaos when he arrived at Hogwarts. The surrounding area and the village of Hogsmede were crawling with a mixture of aurors and dementors, which meant they hadn't found Black yet. Kingsley frowned; how on earth was the man still at large? They must have had every inch of the area around Hogwarts covered and yet they still hadn't found him! And he couldn't be hiding within the actual Hogwarts grounds… could he? That was a worrying thought and unlikely though it was to be true it might be worth investigating, all kinds of things hid in the Forbidden Forest after all. For the moment though, a search of the Forbidden Forest was out of the question, at least until it got light. Kingsley sighed, if Black hadn't been found yet then chances were that the night ahead would be long and full of fruitless searching. The man had broken out of Azkaban and into Hogwarts so on second thought it probably wasn't surprising that he hadn't been caught yet. All they could do was keep searching and hope their efforts were enough to prevent anyone being killed.

It was approaching dawn when Kingsley bumped into a very tired looking Remus Lupin outside the Great Hall.

"Has anyone found him yet?" The werewolf asked desperately. When Kingsley shook his head the other man all but slumped against the wall.

"You're under suspicion." The auror said quietly, after a moment.

"I know." Remus replied wearily.

"Did you help him get into the castle?"

"I thought we'd already had this conversation and you came to the conclusion I wasn't going to help Sirius."

"I'd hate to find out I was wrong."

"You weren't!" Remus' tone was full of frustration, tiredness and if Kingsley had been as paranoid as old Alastor Moody he would have said a touch of guilt. As it was Kingsley dismissed it as regret.

"We'll catch him eventually." Kingsley wasn't sure who he was trying to reassure; Remus or himself.

Remus gave a bitter laugh. "Before or after he gets what he's after?" The werewolf asked, his tone of disgust split between disgust at himself, disgust at the whole damn auror department and disgust at what a man he'd once called friend was trying to do.

Kingsley sighed, not really able to answer the man's question: it was one he asked himself often enough. He looked away and his gaze fell on the hall full of sleeping students. His thoughts drifted to the dark-haired boy who must be sleeping among them somewhere. "How is Harry?" He asked.

Remus calmed himself and followed the auror's gaze. "He's fine." He replied softly before going on to answer the unspoken question of 'What's Harry like?' "He may look just like James and have some of James' rebellious nature and love of adventure but overall he has a lot more of his mother than his father in his personality." The werewolf smiled fondly. "He's a good kid." Remus paused. "As far as I know, he hasn't been told that Sirius is after him. I believe Professor McGonagall will tell him in a day or two. How he'll deal with that news, I'm not sure, but I suspect he'll cope well enough." He sighed before adding sadly. "He reacts badly to the dementors."

Kingsley exchanged a sad look with Remus. "That's hardly surprising I suppose."

"No it isn't." Remus replied softly. A moment of contemplative silence followed before being broken by Remus' failed attempts at suppressing a yawn.

"You should get some sleep." Kingsley noted dryly.

"So should you…"

"I had some before I came here." The auror replied with a small smile. "Go to bed! I doubt we'll find Black tonight." He flicked a look at his watch and frowned at the time. "I'd best head back home soon as well; it'll be a busy day in the office."

Remus nodded absently, bid Kingsley goodbye and headed off across the Great Hall to report to Dumbledore before heading to bed for a couple of hours sleep. Kingsley cast a last glance over the sleeping students and then headed outside to report to various official persons.

It was fully light by the time Kingsley made it back to his house for a shower and a change of clothes (he'd need to be back in work in another hour or so).

He paused at the living room door and smiled slightly. Sandra had gone back on her promise to keep the bed warm: it seemed she'd tried to wait up for him but had fallen asleep on the sofa instead.

He woke her gently and smiled slightly to himself as she explained that the crick in her neck was completely his fault because he hadn't thought to tell her that he wouldn't be back until morning and that as a consequence and to generally make up for walking out on her in the middle of the night he owed her dinner. Her concern was sweet and endearing, and though her rambling way of trying to cover her concern was less so, it was nice to know that someone outside the auror department would care if he _had_ been killed by an escaped mass murderer.

Eventually, he silenced Sandra's rambling with a quick kiss to her forehead and an assurance that he was completely fine. She smiled sheepishly, apologised for her incoherent scolding, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and then left him to get ready for work.

Kingsley sighed as he contemplated the day ahead: one full of piles of paperwork and demands for explanations as to why they hadn't caught Black yet, all on too little sleep. It was not going to be fun.

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As always reviews and comments are most appreciated! In particular I'd like your opinion of Sandra, I'm not a big fan of OCs and get very self-conscious when I try writing them so I'd very much like to know what you think, good or bad, honest reviews will help my OC writing abilities in the future.


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